Edward Kennedy Views Quotations

The Constitution does not just protect those whose views we share; it also protects those with whose views we disagree.

Thus, the controversy about the Moral Majority arises not only from its views, but from its name - which, in the minds of many, seems to imply that only one set of public policies is moral and only one majority can possibly be right.

If we set the precedent of limiting the First Amendment, in order to protect the sensibilities of those who are offended by flag burning, what will we say the next time someone is offended by some other minority view, or by some other person's exercise of the freedom the Constitution is supposed to protect?

If a legislator is safe from competition, or if he represents groups with the same economic and political beliefs, he does not have to change his ideas or respond to the needs of the broader population. He can rest content with a mediocre, absentee performance knowing he will be returned to office. And as he is returned year after year the seniority system gives him immense control over people from other parts of the country whose views he need not heed at all.

A good marriage is loving someone in a lot of different circumstances. Respect for them and their views and ideas and the life that they're leading with you. Shared values and interests. A good sense of humour. And a little volatility along the way.

It is extraordinary that each of the three individuals this president [ George W. Bush] has nominated for the Supreme Court - Chief Justice [John] Roberts, Harriet Miers and now Judge Alito - has served not only as a lawyer for the executive branch, but has defended the most expansive view of presidential authority.

During Senator Ashcroft's quarter-century of public service, he has taken strong positions on a range of important issues in the range of the Justice Department, ... Unfortunately and often he has used the power of his high office to advance his personal views in spite of the law of the land.

Americans will have the opportunity for the first time to hear Judge Roberts' views on the major issues.

But it is very important for the American people to understand who this justice is and what his views are on important constitutional issues, ... And this is magnified particularly when the administration has made a judgment and decision to restrict information about the nominee, for what reasons we do not know.